Adelfried
Jim waved his arms, yelled, argued, and struggled with the Wreckies as they dragged him and Ying away, shoving them into vehicles like common criminals, the whole scene inaudible and distant as if on a muted black and white television screen across the room with white foggy static covering the image. Adelfried remained numb as people tried to talk to him, they pointed and gyrated, moving around him with tense tones and angry voices until he was hoisted up off the ground and put into the backseat of an SUV. The pulse of streetlights passing by in the night as the vehicle rolled down the highway deepened Adelfried’s stupor. What had happened? How had he come to this place? The rain started, first with its slow patter then followed by a heavy downpour, rattling on the roof and windows of the vehicle as they passed into a darkened garage, then a massive black portal followed by dingy interconnected tunnels ending in a cavernous parking garage where they were met with a throng of very concerned officials dressed in an array of harsh military uniforms, some poking and prodding Adelfried with metallic sensors and devices, others questioning and yelling at Jim and finally locking him in cuffs before they were all escorted into a long room with a long table centered within and surrounded by office chairs.
Jim paced the room yelling and ranting but all his words were dull, nothing made sense. His hands were connected with metal binders, his face was one of rage. He slapped Adelfried snapping him out of his daze and the heat of Jim’s voice came through. “Adelfried!”
It was like a spark of life. The world came into sharp focus. “Yes...yes, yes, I’m here.” Adelfried rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. When he opened them the color of the world returned.
Jim’s eyes were wide, fear covered his face. “They took Ying. They wouldn’t say where and handcuffed me.” Jim held his hands up showing the bindings. “What happened? They wouldn’t tell me anything. All they did was check me for being a Sov and threw me in the back of a vehicle like I was a perp they caught.”
“I... sorry, I am not sure what happened. Ying she...she did something...she pulled the magic from me. She...” The purple strike ripping Minna open flashed before Adelfried eyes. He shuddered. “It was terrible, then she just stopped and... healed her.” Adelfried ran his hands over his face and hair hoping things would make more sense after he did but there he was, stuck in some room with a panicked Jim.
Jim fell into a chair in deep thought as if trying to process what he just heard.
Adelfried sat in the chair next to him. “I need to speak with Minna. This is outrageous. I think I know what happened. She must have—”
“Stop right there,” Jim said holding his hands up. His eyes searched the ceiling and the area around him. “Just don’t say anything.”
“What? Why?”
Jim shook his head. “Police 101, put suspects together and let them talk and listen in. They don’t know what happened either. They’re hoping you will give them something.” Jim rose to his feet. His hands tightened into fists. “But we’re not saying anything until I see my wife!” he yelled, twisting his head as if looking for the listening device.
Was this true? Did the Wreckies consider them criminals? Then again, Evan did warn him someone was lying. No. Not a someone, a she. ‘She was lying.’ Was it Minna? Minna’s behavior as of late would be more than enough reason to give anyone pause. Then again, Ying had done, what, pulled the ESH right out of him and almost killed Minna. She could have if she had wanted to. Did she stop herself? Or is she still under some kind of Sov influence? Or maybe it was Nina all along. But what cause would she have for lying? Not that it mattered since she was dead. Alive? Hopefully alive, and with Evan and Kae. Yes, they would be fine. Plus, they had Zarg, he was a smart dog. He could help them.
But what of the situation he was in now? Did Minna think this of her own father? As a criminal? No, surely not. “This must all be some misunderstanding. She is my daughter. She knows me, she knows that I would not—”
Jim held his bound hands up. “They think I am dangerous enough to put me in handcuffs. I don’t have a lick of magic in me. What am I going to do? Huh? Punch someone in the face? Maybe if I got close enough to someone, but I’m walking around a building swarming with magic users, and they put me in cuffs. No. I am officially the enemy as far as these jackasses are concerned.” Jim again scanned the room for a hidden microphone. “Ya’ll are pathetic, you know that? And that is coming from a cop who has seen some shit.”
Indignation swelled within Adelfried. His chest went taut, and he rose to his feet. He marched over to the door and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. He scanned the room looking for the listening device. “You will release us this instant!”
Adelfried waited for a response. Every second it didn’t come filled him with more and more wrath. The familiar prickle of magic pooled in his fists. He went to Jim and severed his bindings with the tips of ESH charged fingers.
Adelfried bowed his chest. “If you do not open the door right now! I will.”
A woman’s voice came over a hidden speaker. “Please calm down. There is no need for—”
Adelfried swung his hands wide and slammed them together in a deafening clap of magical energy powered by the wrath within. The door vaporized. Only a charred hole remained in the wall. Several guards rushed in wearing riot gear complete with shields, helmets, and assault rifles.
The same woman’s voice said over the speaker, “Halt or we will be forced to—”
Adelfried waved his arm knocking the guards over with a surge of kinetic energy like tiny toy soldiers meeting a fist of fury. “Either tell me where Ying is, or I will tear this place apart finding her.”
The anger brewing within him wanted them to challenge him. Give him a reason to burn this place down, to free the world of this overly insistent, self-appointed nanny. But even then, deep down, he knew there was still a need for law and order. But was this the right way? Perhaps better than chaos, but by how much?
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
A smaller, worn woman with her dark hair tied in a bun stepped into the room past the charred opening. She folded her hands neatly behind her back. “I am the Colonel,” she said. It was the same woman who had been talking and listening to them over the speaker. “I will take you to Ying Harper. There is no need for further violence.”
Jim had found a key on one of the fallen guards and unlocked the broken cuffs from his hands. He huffed. “This isn’t violence.” He picked up a MEAR from a fallen guard. “Now, if Ying’s hurt.” He threw the strap over his shoulder and flipped the safety off. “Then, then there’ll be violence.”
The Colonel held a hand up. “No! You cannot be armed. That is strictly forbidden.”
Jim grabbed a shield. “Maybe you’re under the impression I’m going to listen to you.” He slotted the gun into a notch on the side of the shield like he’d done it before. He smiled. “I’m ready when you are.”
Adelfried stepped between Jim and the Colonel. “You heard the man. I suggest you lead the way."
The Colonel stood steadfast for a few seconds before finally relinquishing. She turned and said, “Follow me.”
The Colonel led them down a long corridor then turned at an intersection, then another, her pace languid. At the corner of each intersection were signs, surprisingly printed in normal materials, providing directions to various departments: R&D, HR, Containment, Infirmary, and Detention. Every door they passed was closed and unlabeled.
The Colonel said, “Ying viciously attacked Mistress Kreeg and almost killed her. You must understand that we are taking precautions.”
Adelfried’s insides turned at the words. “Yes, and she also healed her. I have a theory as to what happened.”
Jim bumped into Adelfried and shook his head. He was right. Better to wait to share any information.
The Colonel said, “I’m all ears.”
“I want to see her first”
The Colonel sighed. “We’re all on the same team you know.”
“Are we?” Jim grabbed Adelfried’s arms bringing him to a halt at an intersection. “Then why are leading us away from the infirmary?
The Colonel’s voice pitched slightly higher. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Maybe Jim was on to something here. They had been walking for a long time and in a somewhat odd route.
Jim pointed to a rough spot on the corner of the intersection. “Where are the signs? Huh? Where are you really taking us?”
The Colonel squared her shoulders. “I’m taking you to your wife.”
“Fine,” Jim said “Where is she? Is she in the infirmary?”
The Colonels eyes shifted between Jim and Adelfried. “Yes.”
Jim nodded. “Alright.” He opened the nearest door. A bald man cowered behind his desk. “Hi. Which way to the infirmary?”
The bald man’s eyes went to the Colonel, but Jim blocked the sightline between them so she couldn’t give him a signal. The man hesitated but pointed in the opposite direction they had been heading.
Jim sighed. “That’s what I thought.” Jim took a step back out of the office but paused. “And which way to detention?”
The bald man pointed in the direction they were heading.
“Thanks.” Jim closed the door behind him. He pointed his MEAR at the Colonel. “I’m getting real tired of this Wreckie hospitality.”
Ire started to grow within Adelfried. They were playing games, trying to distract them and lead them to who knows where. To detain them? Put them in prison?
“Me too,” Adelfried said as the crackle of magic filled him. His body glowed a brilliant sky blue as if the rage within was about to unleash itself without his permission. Being angry all the time was unhealthy, but apparently unavoidable as of late, or maybe just when dealing with the Wreckies. The same Wreckies his own daughter had created. And now, she was nowhere to be found. “And where is Minna?”
The Colonel replied, “Mistress Kreeg is otherwise disposed.”
Otherwise disposed? Her own father was rampaging through the very organization she created, and yet, she was otherwise disposed? What could she possibly be doing? Surely not chasing Harold, he would be long gone by now. Looking for the Root? No, she was unbothered by it disappearing. It had to be something more important than all of this, but what could possibly be more important? “Why is she not here? And why am I being led around in circles? Perhaps I should just start laying waste to this facility to get her attention. Is that what I need to do? Must I resort to threatening you and everyone else here for us to be treated fairly?” The magic started to burn. The light from his body was almost too bright to see past.
The Colonel bowed her head and put her hands up and palms out. “Okay! Okay. Please, calm down. I...I admit I was leading you to a place to hold you, but only because—”
“They’re afraid of you.” Jim said, pointing his weapon down. “They can’t keep a wizard in check, even one not schooled in the modern ways.” Jim laughed. “And yet you’re not cooperating. Why?”
“I am only doing as I am told. I promise.” The Colonel pulled a radio out of her pocket. “Stand down. Everyone stand down. I am taking them to the infirmary.”
Finally, they were getting somewhere. The glow within Adelfried started to fade as did his anger. “If we take one step in the wrong direction, I will destroy this facility. Am I clear?”
The Colonel nodded as she turned back towards the direction they had originally come in. She picked up the pace, no longer wasting time. Perhaps they were finally heading in the right direction. After almost completely backtracking and taking them an entirely different route, they finally came to a counter. To the side were a pair of glass doors and behind it nurses dressed in scrubs staring at monitors. One stood up surprised, staring at Jim and Adelfried. “Colonel, is everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s fine. I am taking them to see her. Open the doors.”
The nurses nodded and a buzz came from the doors as they slid open.
“This way,” Karen said going through.
The brightly lit hallway seemed like any other hospital Adelfried had seen on TV. Light colored doors were evenly spread out along the corridor. The clean tile floor reflected the ample lights giving the place a sterile feel. Some doors were open, others closed. At the end of the hall, a pair of sentries guarded a reinforced metal door. That had to be where Ying was.
As they approached, Adelfried glanced into the door adjacent to the guarded door and found it was occupied by a calm Federico, quietly lying in bed.
He waved.
Federico actually waved. No tears, no whimpers, no crying, a wave.
Shocked and unsure what to do, Adelfried waved back.
Federico smiled.
“Move aside,” the Colonel barked at the guard. When they did, she opened the door revealing an unconscious Ying lying in bed. To her side a nurse sat at a desk. Ying's hands were bound to the bed and clear tubes ran from strips of white tape on her arms to bags suspended beside the bed.
Jim marched in and reached for one of the bags hanging beside the bed.
The nurse rose from her desk and smacked Jim’s hand away. “You can’t be in here.”
Jim froze. He slowly turned to the nurse, his chest heaving. He leaned in close, almost nose to nose with the woman. “Stand back or I will make you stand back. Am I clear?”
The woman opened her mouth to speak but then thought the better of it apparently and stepped back.
Jim grabbed the bag of liquid and unhooked it from the metal rod it hung from. “They got her doped up.” He pointed to the nurse. “Wake her up.”
The nurse looked at the Colonel who had entered the room. “I am under orders from Mistress Kreeg herself to keep Ying sedated and away from any access to ESH. You saw what she did. She is a very real threat. Nothing you can say will countermand that order.”
Jim spun around to the Colonel. His massive frame towered over the small wrinkle of a woman. “That’s not good enough.”